Jordanian Armed Forces
The Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) (Arabic: القوات المسلحة الأردنية, romanized: Al-Quwwat Al-Musallaha Al-Urduniyya), also referred to as the Arab Army (Arabic: الجيش العربي, Al-Jaysh Al-Arabi), are the military forces of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. They consist of the ground forces, air force, and navy. They are under the direct control of the King of Jordan who is the Supreme Commander of the Jordanian Armed Forces and acts by recommendation of the Defence Minister. The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is Major General Yousef Huneiti, who is also the King's military adviser.[2]
Jordanian Armed Forces
22 October 1920
1 March 1956
18–49 years old
100,500[1]
65,000[1]
$2.6 billion
6.5%
World War II (1940–45)
Arab–Israeli War
Retribution operations (1950s)
Six-Day War
War of Attrition (1967–70)
Battle of Karameh (1968)
Black September
Yom Kippur War
Yemeni Civil War (1994)
1999 East Timorese crisis
First Libyan Civil War
International military intervention against ISIL (2014–present)
Saudi-led intervention in Yemen (2015)
The first organized army in Jordan was established on 22 October 1920, and was named the "Mobile Force". At the time it only had 150 men in its ranks. On its third anniversary in 1923, the force was renamed the Arab Legion, consisting of 1,000 men. By the time Jordan became an independent state in 1946, the Arab Legion numbered some 8,000 soldiers in 3 mechanized regiments. In 1956, King Hussein dismissed all British generals and changed the name of the Legion into the "Jordanian Arab Army" in what became known as the Arabization of the Jordanian Army command.
The army fought in several wars and battles, mostly against Israel. In the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the capture of the West Bank by Jordan and the decisive Battles of Latrun, proved that the Arab Legion was the most effective army during the war. Several confrontations followed with Israel, resulting in mixed success; they included the Retribution operations, the Six-Day War, the War of Attrition and Yom Kippur War. Jordan also had to face the PLO and the Syrian Army during the events of Black September. The signing of the Israel–Jordan peace treaty in 1994 ended the state of belligerency between the two countries.[3]
It is today considered to be among the most professional in the region, and is seen as particularly well-trained, organized, and equipped.[4]
Peacekeeping[edit]
The Jordanian Armed Forces has been a strong supporter and participant of UN peacekeeping missions.[15][16][17][18] Jordan ranks among the highest internationally in taking part in UN peacekeeping missions.[19] The size of the Jordanian participation in various areas of the United Nations peacekeeping troops and staff, hospital and international observers, is estimated to be 61,611 officers and men, starting in 1989 in Angola through the task of military observers and humanitarian security forces.[20] After France and the UK, Jordan was the largest contributor of troops to the UN forces in the former Yugoslavia, sending three battalions, or over three thousand troops, from 1993 to 1996.[21]
At the U.N. Copenhagen summit, Jordan was alone, out of more than 30 developing nations, in unveiling plans to help fight climate change, including upgrading its armed forces by 2020, an area usually overlooked in the global warming debate. The army will seek to upgrade engines and old vehicles and use energy saving technologies.[22][23]
